Posts Tagged ‘srt viper’

For the second time since 2010, Fiat Chrysler is killing off the Dodge Viper sports car.

Reintroduced in 2012 to much fanfare, the Viper received strong reviews, but relatively few buyers ponied up the initial MSRP of $97,395. Dodge later cut the price but sluggish sales forced it to repeatedly put production on hold.

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“The Dodge Viper has had a great run and, 25 years after it was first introduced, it leaves the super car world reaching for the records it continues to set,” Tim Kuniskis, the head of the Dodge brand, said in a statement.

It may be one of the fastest cars on the market, but the SRT Viper has also proven to be one of the slowest off dealer lots, and unexpectedly weak sales have forced parent Chrysler to shut down production for nearly three months – though some sources suggest that could stretch on until well into the summer.

The Viper has never been a high-volume product, especially when compared to General Motors’ Chevrolet Corvette. But demand has lagged unexpectedly since the Viper nameplate was revived last year after several years out of production.

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Total sales came to just 591 in 2013 and have been on a downward trend this winter – even as Chevy struggles to keep up with demand for the all-new, seventh-generation “C7” Corvette.

Officially, production of the Viper is set to go on hiatus at the end of the week of April 14, with the Connor Avenue Assembly Plant scheduled to start back up during the week of June 23. That move follows an earlier production cut announced last autumn due to weak sales.

Chrysler Group denies that any of the 93 Dodge Vipers it donated to schools across the country have been involved in any accidents. They are simply no longer useful educational tools and aren't historically significant so they should be crushed.

The actions of a few rogues are coming back to haunt hundreds of unsuspecting innocents across the country, at least, that’s what students involved in an auto shop program thought when they received orders from Chrysler Group to destroy the 1992 Dodge Viper used by the program for educational purposes.

South Puget Sound Community College was ordered to crush the Viper that was donated to the program a decade ago within two weeks. According to reports, a Chrysler official said that a couple of the 93 Vipers donated across the country had been involved in accidents while driven by students, costing the company millions.

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The cars are still technically the property of Chrysler, thus the automaker was on the hook for any issues and now they considered the cars a liability and want them destroyed. (more…)

Chrysler now plans to produce more limited-edition versions of the SRT Viper, such as the new TA.

Chrysler has launched production of a track-ready version of the new Viper in a bid to put sales of the domestic supercar into high gear.

Dubbed the SRT Viper TA – short for Time Attack – Chrysler’s performance division plans to produce just 159 of the special models set to blast into showrooms this month for a price of $123,080. The “base” Viper starts at $97,395.

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Chrysler first revealed the Viper TA at the New York Auto Show, last spring and has revised some of its plans for the special edition since then, boosting output from an original 33 TAs, with production originally expected to begin several months ago. A total of 93 of the track-ready models will be painted in a unique “TA Orange” paint – originally dubbed Crush Orange – with 33 more in Venom Black and 33 in Bright White.

“We’re shifting to more pre-packaged models like the TA,” Ralph Gilles, SRT president and chief executive officer, told TheDetroitBureau.com.

SRT chief Ralph Gilles - also Chrysler's corporate design chief, plants a welcome kiss on the new SRT Viper during its 2012 NY Auto Show debut.

Launched with plenty of ballyhoo last year, Chrysler Group’s reborn Viper has generated more buzz than business. But the head of the fledgling SRT brand insists the Detroit supercar continues to build momentum.

If anything, SRT CEO Ralph Gilles – who also serves as Chrysler Group chief designer – insists that dealers have been a bottleneck and that the order books for the Viper are close to full.

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Nonetheless, the maker is not looking at sales alone when it measures the success of the Viper. “Volume is not our be all and end all,” said Gilles.

The TA version of the SRT Viper will hit 60 in 3.3 seconds, with 11.3 second quarter mile runs.

Facing an unexpected slowdown in sales, Chrysler plans a one-third cut in production of its two-seat sports car, the SRT Viper.

Unveiled at the 2012 New York Auto Show and put on sale early this year, the $104,480 Viper was heralded as one of the best sports cars Detroit has ever produced – and more than capable of challenging European supercars costing twice as much.

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But with the sports car segment seeing the launch of a wide range of new products – including the all-new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette – sales of the Viper have been running short of expectations. This year’s surge in fuel prices hasn’t helped, nor is the lack of winter tires for the 640-horsepower two-seater.

This story has been updated to correct production plans for the new SRT Viper TA.

For those who didn’t think the reborn SRT Viper was quite up to snuff, especially for those weekend track days, there’s no reason to worry. Chrysler’s performance division has a special edition just for you, the SRT Viper TA.

While still street legal, the “Time Attack” Viper is designed primarily for taking on the best the competition can throw at it on the track, models such as the Nissan GT-R and outgoing Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1. (We’ll have to see what Chevy conjures up when the next-gen C7-based ZR-1 appears.)

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The SRT Viper TA maintains the stock snake’s 640-horsepower, 600 lb-ft of thrust from its 8.4-liter V-10. The 6-speed manual gearbox also remains untouched. But the Time Attack gets a track-tuned suspension and aerodynamic tweaks intended to shave critical 100ths off lap times.

The reborn SRT Viper, (shown with the old Dodge version), is the most expensive model on the 2013 Hagerty Hot List.

It’s been a good year for classic car collectors – and even better for those who have put their cars up for auction. All sorts of records fell during the annual gathering of collectors in Scottsdale, Arizona last month and observers expect to see even more tumble in the months to come.

There are some vehicles, like early-model Ferraris and rare ‘60s muscle cars, that always seem to command a high price when the gavel comes down. But there are plenty of other collectible models that also do well for owners.

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So, if you’re looking to buy a new car not just to drive it today but perhaps to have a collectible 20 years from now, how do you know what to pick? That’s where the Hagerty Hot List comes in. It’s the work of Hagerty Insurance, one of the industry leaders in providing coverage for classic cars. And the list is designed to provide a tip sheet on reasonably affordable vehicles from the 2013 model-year that are likely to be in high demand 20 years from now.

The 2013 SRT Viper and a 2010 Dodge Viper ACR face off at the Chrysler Proving Grounds.

The official unveiling of the 2013 SRT Viper at last spring’s New York Auto Show was a boisterous affair. Despite the loud applause, though, there were a few quick to razz the new sports car for looking like little more than a clone of the old coupe. True, the designs are strikingly similar – until you see them sitting side-by-side. The new Viper is no carbon copy, nor is it the rebadged Alfa Romeo many had anticipated in those dark days between the time the old car was pulled from production, in 2010, and word began to leak out that an all-new model was in the works.

Ironically, some of those who loved the old design are also wondering what to make of the 2013 Viper. The concept behind the original 1992 roadster was to come up with a car that was as raw, even brutal, as possible. There were none of the usual amenities. Not even anti-lock brakes or airbags. In a rainstorm it was easier to get drenched than try to install the fold-up vinyl “toupette.” But few cars of the era could come close to matching that first Viper’s pure fun-to-drive factor.

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With the addition of the first GTS Coupe and a subsequent list of limited amenities, the Viper did become – dare we say it – a bit more refined over the years. But what to expect from the new one, developed by an all-new management team and subject to new mandates requiring such “niceties” as airbags and electronic stability control? That’s what TheDetroitBureau.com set out to discover as we headed over to the Chrysler Proving Ground in Chelsea, Michigan for our first drive.

While the kids may be getting their costumes ready and dreaming of shopping bags full of candy, gearheads know the real place to celebrate Halloween is Las Vegas. Yep, you will find some wild costumes cruising the Strip, but the best treats in town will be on display at the Las Vegas Convention Center at the annual SEMA show.

For those who haven’t caught it before, the Specialty Equipment Marketers Association is the annual gathering for all sorts of aftermarket parts makers, tuners – and major manufacturers, like Chrysler, who roll into Sin City with some exotic updates of their more conventional product lines.

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That will include an assortment of offerings from Chrysler and its Italian ally Fiat, the partners today giving us an advance look at some of the SEMA specials they’ll have on display – including Mopar-ized vehicles from the Dodge, Jeep, Chrysler, Ram and Fiat brands. Perhaps the big draw, however, will be the all-new SRT Viper.